What is the Cause of Hair Loss in Women and Can Anything Be Done About It?

Although predominantly thought of as a male problem, hair loss in women is quite a common occurrence. In fact it is thought that as many as 1 in 4 women suffer from some kind of hair loss or thinning hair; and while for men although it can be embarrassing, for women it can have a devastating effect as hair plays such a big part in how a woman presents herself to the world. But, what is the cause of hair loss in women?

The first area that could be the cause could be lifestyle. If you are experiencing thinning hair take a step back and look at how things are going; are you under a lot of pressure or feeling stressed? What about your diet are you eating plenty of fruit and veg to ensure you are getting all the vitamins you need? If not then this may be the place you should start looking at first before taking any other action.

Another area to consider is the way you wear your hair, do you often have it tied back tightly, or use a lot of bleach or other such chemicals on your hair? That could be behind it too, as could the shampoo that you use especially if it contains Sodium Laureth Sulfate. This works as a cleanser and a degreaser but can actually thin your hair as well.

If none of the above are really applicable then your thinning hair is probably the caused by one of the following two things:-

I)Hormones - If you are going through the menopause or have been unfortunate enough to have to undergo a hysterectomy then hormones can play a huge part in thinning hair. The reason for this is because your body is producing less estrogen: normally you will produce both estrogen and testosterone but the estrogen acts like a barrier and keeps the testosterone under control, however without that barrier it is free to roam around the body and can become DHT which effects the roots in your scalp.

II)Hereditary - As well as men becoming bald through their genes, so can women and the genes can be passed down from either parent and this leaves you with what is known as androgenetic alopecia which is basically hereditary thinning.

So can anything be done to help restore the hair? Well in the case of menopausal women sometimes HRT can help but other than that a common route is either a transplant or a weave which are both expensive and painful. However it is now becoming recognized that there are natural alternatives that can help not only stop the heir thinning but also help to kick start hair growth, and these are things like Minoxidil, vitamins B6, magnesium and folic acid to name but a few, and the results from people using supplements containing these vitamins minerals and herbs are very encouraging.